유해 남조류 Microcystis 종에 의한 녹조현상은 매년 빈번하게 일어나며, 이로 인한 수자원의 질적 변화와 먹는 물 확보에 문제가 발생하고 있다. Microcystis 종에 의한 피해를 막고자 개발된 naphthoquinone (NQ) 유도체 물질의 장점 분석을 위해 국내에서 빈번히 사용되는 황토를 이용한 microcosm 실험을 하고자 하였다. 그 결과, NQ 40, NQ 2-0 물질은 선행 연구 결과와 동일하게 유해 남조류 Microcystis 종을 선택적으로 99.9%, 99.6% 제어했으며, 식물플랑크톤 종 다양성을 증진시켰다. 그러나, 황토를 처리한 실험구는 실험 초기 일시적인 조류 제어효과를 보인 후 다시 증가하였으며, 유용 조류를 포함한 모든 식물플랑크톤에게 적용되어 다른 조류의 성장은 이루어지지 않았다. 뿐만 아니라, NQ 물질을 처리한 처리구는 비생물학적, 생물학적요인 모두 영향을 미치지 않았으며, 대조구와 유사한 경향이 관찰되었다. 따라서, 최종적으로 개량된 유해 남조류 제어물질 NQ 2-0은 높은 살조효과, 선택적 제어효과, 저독성, 자연분해에 의한 비잔류성 뿐만 아니라, 편의성 및 경제성까지 갖춘 새로운 살조물질로서 현재까지 개발된 살조물질 보다 현장 생태계 적용에 가장 적합한 친환경 녹조제어 물질이라고 판단된다.

The p21-activated kinases (PAKs) are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases and activated by binding with activated Rho GTPases such as Rac or Cdc42. PAKs regulate actin cytoskeletal remodeling, cell motility, cell survival, and apoptosis. Also, PAKs are involved in several diseases such as cancer, virus infectious diseases, mental retardation, Alzheimer and Parkinson's diseases. Therefore, the substances that are able to inhibit PAK activation can be used as powerful tools and medicines for PAK relative diseases or specific inhibitors for study of PAK signaling pathway. In this study, we investigated and characterized the 5 compounds of 4-benzene-1, 2-naphthoquinone (NQ) family as candidate substances to inhibit the PAK1 activation in vitro and in cells. Binding between p21-binding domain (PBD) of PAK1 and Cdc42 was blocked by 5 NQ-compounds in ELISA assay. Myelin basic protein (MBP) phosphorylation was dramatically reduced by treatment of these compounds in vitro kinase assay for Cdc42-induced or constitutive active PAK1 mutant. Also, phosphorylation at Thr 423 of transfected PAK1 was inhibited by treatment of 5 NQ-compounds in 293T cells, respectively. Finally, NQ-5 inhibited strongly the PAK1 activation by PDGF stimulation and cell motility in PDGF-induced wound migration assay in NIH 3T3 cells. Therefore, these NQ compounds will be good candidates as target molecules to regulate PAK1-related diseases or inhibitors to study PAK1 signaling pathway.

Bloom of small centric diatom Stephanodiscus is quite occasional in winter season in temperate freshwater ecosystems. It often leads to degradation of water quality and affects the quality of supplied drinking water. In a previous study, we have found that naphthoquinone (NQ) 4-6 derivate is an effective tool for efficient mitigation of natural S. hantzschii blooms. In the present research, polylactide (PLA) and agar foam were used as immobilized agent for NQ 4-6 to improve the efficiency of NQ 4-6 compound releasing process for its application under various field conditions. Mesocosm experiments at 10 ton scale suggested that the abundance of S. hantzschii was continuously increased in the control and upon treatment of the mesocosm with immobilized NQ 4-6 from PLA and agar foam. Their algicidal activities were 78.8% and 77.1%, respectively, on S. hantzschii after 10 days. In the mesocosm experiments, the dynamics of biotic (bacteria, HNFs, ciliates, zooplankton) and abiotic (water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, nutrients) factors remained unaffected. They exhibited similar trends in the control and treatment groups. Therefore, the immobilized NQ 4-6 from PLA and agar foam has potential to be used as an alternative algicidal substance to effectively mitigate natural S. hantzschii blooms under various field conditions. In addition, it not only can be used to control S. hantzschii, but also is an effective technique. The immobilized NQ 4-6 showed stable controlled release in desired system.